Month: November 2013

Andre Iguodala had his pass intercepted by Los Angeles Lakers guard Xavier Henry with 3:25 left in the third quarter. He was running back on transition defense when, suddenly, he started limping and grabbed for his left hamstring. He began hopping on his one good leg toward the bench.

Iguodala is a physical specimen among elite athletes. So if he is reacting that way, you know something’s wrong. Sure enough, it was. He felt a pop.

“That’s what I felt, so that’s why I was so concerned,” Iguodala said. “I knew it was something. Normally I can just run it off or it’ll go away. But once I heard it pop, I knew it was serious.”

Warriors have officially ruled Stephen Curry out for tonight’s game against the host Lakers.
This will be the second consecutive game Curry has missed due to the mild concussion he sustained Monday in Utah.
Curry participated in non-contact drills on Thursday. He took part in shootaround Friday morning. But Curry still hasn’t passed (or even taken) the final test. Before being cleared to play, he needs to participate in full-contact activity and emerge symptom free.
That Curry still hasn’t participated in contact activity could be a sign he still has symptoms from he non-contact work he’s done. Or, perhaps, the Warriors — who would have to craft a situation for Curry since everything has been light since Wednesday — don’t want to force it to get Curry back on the court.
If that is the case, Curry could feasibly miss Saturday’s home game against Portland, too.
There still won’t be a traditional opportunity for Curry to get some contact activity in. No shootaround is scheduled for Saturday, so the Warriors would have to manufacture an opportunity for Curry to be tested before the game.
If not, the Warriors’ next practice won’t be until Monday, as players usually get a day off after back-to-back sets.

Warriors point guard Stephen Curry participated in shoot around Friday. But he still hasn’t completed the last hurdle before he can be cleared to play tonight against the host Los Angeles Lakers.

Curry, who sustained a mild concussion on Monday, must participate in contact drills and be symptom free to pass the league’s concussion protocol. The Warriors don’t do contact stuff in shootaround and nothing was set up for Curry to take the final tests. Whether that is because Curry was still showing symptoms after Thursday’s work or they wanted more time to evaluate him is unclear. The Warriors are hush on the details.

But Jackson said Curry will be tested before the game and said it is still possible for the point guard to return.

LOS ANGELES — Point guard Stephen Curry participated in non-contact drills in the Warriors’ light practice at UCLA on Thursday, presumably meaning his headache has dissipated.

Curry missed Wednesday’s loss to visiting Memphis because of a mild concussion, sustained Monday at Utah. His only symptom, according to the Warriors, was a headache. If he is symptom free following the work he did today, he can advance to the next step in the concussion protocol: contact practice.

Friday’s shootaround is the last opportunity for him to pass this hurdle. It’s usually a light walk through, but the Warriors can create some contact opportunities for him, such as three-on-three action. How he responds to that would determine if Curry can play when the Los Angeles Lakers host Golden State.

Curry was unavailable for comment, as is Warriors’ procedure for injured player. He was the only starter at practice as coach Mark Jackson gave his heavy-minute players a day off. Andrew Bogut, David Lee, Klay Thompson and Andre Iguodala all took Jackson up on his offer.

All of the reserves took part in the team’s light workout. including Harrison Barnes though he started in Wednesday’s overtime loss.

If you needed a gauge for how important Stephen Curry is to the Warriors, watch the replay of Golden State’s 88-81 overtime loss to Memphis.

With Curry out because of a mild-concussion, the Warriors found themselves playing right into the Grizzlies hands. And the result was Golden State’s 11th straight loss to Memphis and the first home loss of the season.

Without Curry, Golden State had 19.9 points and 8.7 assists taken out of their offense. But Curry, clearly, brings even more than that. The intangibles the Warriors rely on created a noticeable void when missing. They missed the threat Curry is on offense. They missed the attention he draws from the defense and his ability to make stuff happen.

“Obviously he’s a big-time player and not having him hurts us,” coach Mark Jackson said. “But the next guy stands up. We are a no-excuse basketball team. I thought my guys gave a great effort. They defended, battled and we fell short.”

Memphis met little resistance while grinding the game into a halt. By the end of the night Wednesday, the Warriors stood only a puncher’s legs. But they had no legs to throw it.

The Warriors managed to out-duke the Grizzlies for a half they led by as much as 12 and early in the third quarter. But over the long haul, Memphis proved to be significantly better at the rough-and-tumble, low-scoring affairs.

“We wanted to push the pace,” Jackson said. “I thought that’s when the game changed when we started to walk it up the floor. They scored a little bit more, slowed it down by posting up their bigs. There’s no secret we are at our best when we are pushing the basketball.”

Kent Bazemore is back. That tight, ineffective player you’ve seen is gone. You’ll see tonight, he says.

“I put the most pressure on myself. Thus far this season, I was just being to consumed with perfection,” Bazemore said after Wednesday’s shoot around. “Throughout my career, I have just let it happen. Early on this season is where I started to be somebody I wasnt and it showed on the floor. I’m back to myself. I’m ready to play. I’m ready to go.”

Bazemore could be in line for some meaningful minutes when the Warriors host the Memphis Grizzlies. Golden State will be without starting point guard Stephen Curry, who was ruled out with a mild concussion. Curry’s back-up, Toney Douglas, is still out with a stress reaction in his left tibia.

Remember the Klay Thompson commercial Midnight Shooter? Narrated by Mark Jackson, it featured Thompson working on his shot late at night. The NBA announced today it won the Best Intra-League Spot for the 2013 Sports Media Marketing Awards.

Fittingly, the award was announced the same day the Warriors debut the new TV “We Are Warriors” commercial. It is called The Assist and it features Klay Thompson and Warriors fan Toni Marshall from Hayward. And you get to see it here first.